Game 1 of the 2026 Rookie Faceoff turned into a rough night fast for the LA Kings, and coach Andrew Lord didn’t try to dress it up after Saturday’s 8-1 loss to the Sharks. The score got away early, the third period turned chippy, and Lord’s postgame message centered on the same theme throughout: this was a hard lesson for a young group.
He pointed first to the basics that broke down when San Jose’s speed and skill started dictating the pace.
“Yeah, it’s difficult, obviously. I think just a great learning lesson overall.
I think that’s what it has to be, and what it is. From an odd-man perspective, puck-management perspective, we have to be so much better, for sure.
And just make the game a lot harder. Really good lesson when you’re playing elite-level, skilled-type teams.
They’ve got multiple guys, obviously, that are NHL-caliber. They make you pay within a split second, so just making the game harder overall is going to be a real focus for tomorrow, and I know we’ll all be better.”
Lord said the transition game was especially punishing for the Kings’ young defensemen, but he didn’t pin it all on one group. He said the forwards needed to do a better job tracking, getting above pucks, and handling the puck at the blue line.
“At the same time, the forwards, the tracking, getting above pucks, puck management at their blue line - all those fundamentals are really critical, and we probably hung our D out to dry at times. At the same time, I think our D caused their own problems as well, right?
And just managing the game. Probably the best way to answer it is just to understand how quickly the transition happens.
You think you’re fine, and you get stuck on the wall, and then you’re not, right? And two guys jump up and it’s two-on-ones, breakaways.
It happens in less than a second. So just understanding that pace of play is a really valuable lesson as well tonight.”
The Kings did show fight late, and Lord said that mattered even in a lopsided result. He noted the three fights in the final 10 minutes and said the group showed pride in the sweater.
“I would say there’s a lot of pride. I’d say the guys laid it out there.
As lopsided as the score was, we had three fights in the final 10 minutes, I think. The guys cared about each other out there, they gave it everything they had.
I had a real sense of commitment, and they did really value the sweater. And it’s a young group.
It’s guys that are learning. It’s never going to be perfect.
There’s always going to be tough lessons, and as bad as the scoreline is, I think it’s going to be a really valuable moment for a lot of our guys.”
Lord also said the game got away from the Kings early and stayed there.
“I think we just let the game get ahead early. We really allowed their speed and their skill to take over, and it causes problems all night.”
The late scrums included Liam Lefebvre standing up for a teammate against Alexander Karmanov, Jared Woolley squaring off with Quentin Musty, and Jimmy Lombardi and Jake Boltmann locking up in another altercation.
Asked about Lefebvre fighting a much bigger player in the third period, Lord said the reaction from his group went beyond that one moment.
“Yeah, I mean him, Woolley, multiple others - even that weren’t just fights. I think there was some guys sticking up for each other. Probably needed to happen a little earlier, but at the end of the day, to see it is a good sign for sure.”
Lord also had praise for goalie Georgie, saying the netminder was left exposed too often but still came up with strong stops.
“Georgie’s fantastic, obviously. He’s a top prospect for a reason.
And you’ve got to feel for him, right? It’s a tough night.
We certainly didn’t make it easy on him. He still had some highlight-reel saves, and the best is yet to come for that young man - really exciting stuff.”
There was also an injury note on Dvorak, who was being checked out after the game. Lord said the early read was encouraging, but nothing was final yet.
“They’re checking him out. It sounds like hopefully okay. We’re going to know more tomorrow, more assessment tomorrow.”
Lord said Adam Goljer, who saw game action for the first time, flashed the shot and offensive instincts that stood out in limited moments.
“Yeah, good moments, obviously some defending moments and things that any young player is going to have to improve on and grow with. But you could see the shot, you could see some of the ability up high on the top of the blue line there, whether it’s on the power play or maybe in a rush opportunity. And yeah, some exciting stuff.”
Asked about the decision to go without a captain and use three alternates instead, Lord’s response was not included in the available quotes.
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